Month: December 2013

PHCC Porter Campus To Open As Pasco Hernando State College

By Gary Nager

Dr. Stanley Giannet, Ph.D. The new Provost of the Pasco Hernando Community College Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch

Even though, at our press time, the new Pasco Hernando Community College (PHCC) Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch (located on Mansfield Blvd. at S.R. 56), still looked like more of a construction site than a college campus, PHCC Porter Campus Provost Stanley M. Giannet, Ph.D., said that school officials were expecting to receive the Certificate of Occupancy for the newest of Florida’s 29 two-year college campuses on Dec. 10, with the building actually opening on Jan. 2 and classes for the Spring 2014 semester set to begin on Mon., Jan. 13.

Dr. Giannet gave a complete update on PHCC — which actually will be renamed Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC) when the five-campus community college receives its expected final accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges later this month (which will transform the current four-campus PHCC into a fully-accredited, four-year state college the day it opens) — at the Dec. 4 meeting of the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club, which meets Wednesdays at noon at Ciao! Italian Bistro in the Shops at Wiregrass mall.

The high-energy Provost of the (for now) PHCC Porter Campus explained that the new campus is playing an integral role in PHCC’s transition to a four-year state college because it will be the home of the new PHSC’s first two Bachelor’s degree programs — a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Management & Supervision. And, although the many of the two-year Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree programs to be offered at PHSC’s Porter Campus will be in allied health fields, including pharmacy tech and surgical technologist programs.

“Two full floors of the Porter Campus will be devoted to nursing and allied health courses and degrees,” said Dr. Giannet. “And, we already have an affiliation in place with Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) and are still finalizing opportunities for our students at the new North Tampa Behavioral Health (NTBH) facility, both just a couple of miles from the school. This campus is really going to be fully tied in with this community.”

In fact, the Provost also was hopeful that the other two-year degree programs at PHSC’s Porter Campus, which will include paralegal, financial services, heavy workforce business programs and information technology, will help PHSC grads get jobs at the planned Raymond James Financial office nearby on S.R. 56 and the other large companies that may soon be coming to the area.

Pasco Hernando Community College Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch scheduled to open for classes on January 13.

And, Dr. Giannet told the Rotarians, at seven stories tall, the beautiful main building at the 60-acre Porter Campus will be the tallest building in Pasco County when it opens, but “the real story is everything that will be going on inside the buildings…and the people who will be staffing them.”

The Provost called those who already have filled the first 47 of 50 available positions at the Porter Campus, “a superstar team of faculty, professionals and staff,” and thanked FHWC CEO Brian Adams for the hospital’s hosting of a three-evening information session about the school, attended by, “about 180 people.”

And, speaking of people, although Dr. Giannet said the total 2014 enrollment at PHSC is expected to be about 2,500, “we may have to up that estimate because we’ve only been accepting registrations for three weeks (at press time) and already have 1,050 students registered for the spring semester. We’re all very excited about opening.”

For more info about PHCC’s Porter Campus (2727 Mansfield Blvd.), call 527-6615 or visit PHCC.edu.

‘Baby Mama Drama’ At Cobb Theater

By Matt Wiley,

A woman has been charged with domestic battery after allegedly attacking her ex-boyfriend in the parking lot of a Wesley Chapel movie theater.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) reports that at around 10:30 p.m. on November 22, Mykhal Harris, 23, was walking to his car with a female friend named Shenee Peterkin after seeing a movie at the Cobb Grove 16, located in The Grove shopping plaza off Wesley Grove Blvd.

“Out of nowhere,” as Peterkin described the incident to deputies, Harris’ live-in ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Brittany Michele Lynch, 24, ran up to and began striking Harris in the face. The arrest report states that Lynch also attempted to strike Peterkin. At one point during the struggle, Lynch reportedly pulled Harris to the ground by his dreadlocks.

Harris and Peterkin were able to get into Harris’ 2010 Dodge Charger, but the PCSO report states that Lynch began to kick the headlights of the vehicle, keyed the hood and driver’s side door and attempted to break the driver’s side window with her left fist. Harris dialed 9-1-1 and made an on-duty deputy at the movie theater aware of the incident.

PCSO deputies found Lynch to be belligerent and emotional when they came into contact with her. The arrest report states that she continued to yell obscenities at Harris and told deputies that she couldn’t understand what made Harris think that he could be with other women. She also told deputies that an abrasion on her forehead was caused by Harris throwing her to the ground.

Lynch was arrested for domestic battery and criminal mischief, but the latter charge was referred to the State Attorney’s office. She was released from the Pasco County Detention Center on a $250 bond.

Men Steal $26K In Equipment From Employer

By Matt Wiley,

Months of conspiring to steal surveying equipment from their employer has landed two Pasco County men in jail.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), Bradley Richard Ragsdill, 23, of Lutz, and Bradley Kinsman Perez, 23, of Dade City, were arrested at 4 p.m. on November 22 on charges of scheming to defraud.

The arrest reports state that between May 1 and November 25 of this year, Ragsdill and Perez conspired to steal surveying equipment from their employer, International Surveying Equipment, Inc., located off Cypress Ridge Blvd. in Wesley Chapel. The two duplicated a key to the business in order to gain unauthorized access to it and deleted inventory records of the products that they were planning to steal, according to the arrest reports.

In total, Ragsdill and Perez stole more than $26,000 in surveying equipment. Perez told deputies after his arrest that he stole the equipment because he thought that the business was going under and that he would sell the stolen products if he needed to “make a few bucks,” the arrest report states. Ragsdill admitted to his crimes and apologized.

Both men were released on one charge each of scheming to defraud on $10,000 bonds.

D&E Couriers Will Get Your Packages Across Town In No Time

By Matt Wiley

David Gross of D & E Couriers will get whatever you need delivered to its destination in no time at all, whether in town or across the state.

During this busy season of holiday shopping, when so many gifts are being purchased online, it can be tough to decide which shipping method actually will get your purchases where they need to go in the time period left before the big gift-giving holiday. Sometimes, things get lost in the mail or delayed, forcing them to arrive later than expected.

However, this is not the case with New Tampa-based D & E Couriers, a local delivery service that truly ensures same-day delivery to locations all across the Tampa Bay area. D & E specializes in delivering packages, sensitive documents or anything else that individuals and businesses need delivered in a timely manner, without having to go through a major delivery service at the risk of that delivery showing up late.

Whether it’s document deliveries, pharmaceutical transfers, court deliveries, inter-office deliveries, bank deposits or payroll deliveries, D & E Couriers is your safe, dependable and efficient solution.

“We are always on time,” says D & E owner David Gross. “We are very conscious about (our delivery time).”

David and his wife Ellen (together, the “D & E” in the company’s name) have lived in New Tampa’s Heritage Isles community off Cross Creek Blvd. since they relocated to Florida twelve years ago from West Orange, NJ, where David ran a limousine service. Although he says he doesn’t like to drop names, he admits that transporting top-billed actors and directors around the Big Apple (New York City) was a pretty common task.

David sold that business before the couple moved to New Tampa, where he worked in retail sales and even got his real estate license. He also worked as an independent courier, delivering documents for law firms, prescriptions for doctors and pharmacies, as well as other deliveries for local companies before deciding to start his own delivery service.

“I knew I wanted to start a courier service, but I didn’t want to do limousine service anymore,” David explains.

Now, David has a fleet of independent couriers that work for him at D & E. Ellen handles the calls from businesses looking for a courier and dispatches drivers to handle the different deliveries.

“(Ellen’s) job is pretty tough,” David explains. “In addition to knowing the area well, she also has to know which driver is located within that surrounding area so that packages will get delivered in the most prompt manner.”

Despite owning the company, David still also does deliveries on a regular basis himself. On any given day, drivers may travel back and forth between Tampa and St. Petersburg multiple times before heading as far north as Brooksville and then taking something back to South Tampa, David says.

“We have access to as many drivers as a company may need,” David explains. “All of which are insured and have been personally interviewed by me.”

Drivers have their own vehicles and look to D & E for assignments. Although D & E is mostly a local service, the couriers can make deliveries all over the state.

“We pride ourselves on same-day deliveries, locally,” David says. “However, we can make deliveries across the state. If you need something taken to Miami, or even Jacksonville, we’ll get it there, quickly. It just won’t be in an hour.”

D & E offers four levels of service: Express, Standard, Economy and Priority Out-of-Town. Customers are charged for each service based upon the mileage required for each delivery and the time in which the package (whatever it may be) needs to be delivered. Whatever the per-mile rate is determined to be for Economy Service, the price for Standard and Express service will be slightly higher.

Express Service promises pick-up and delivery with 90 minutes of the package being ready. Standard Service promises pick-up and delivery within three hours of being ready. Economy Service ensures that all deliveries that are ready for pick-up by 11 a.m. will be delivered by the end of the business day at 5 p.m.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that courier services are usually cheaper and, in many cases, more reliable than the big-name overnight delivery services,” David explains. “A lot of people don’t even realize that they can use courier services for their deliveries.”

West Meadows resident and local attorney Dennis Kapustin knows the benefits of using D & E well.

“We use D & E for all of our courier services,” Kapustin says. “D & E has always been good to me. I can’t give them a better rating. No matter what it is, (D & E) always is prompt and efficient.”

Kapustin explains that he uses D & E to send legal documents around town to clients and other attorneys, including wills, trusts and real estate deeds.

“I highly recommend D & E,” Kapustin says.

Need something delivered around town the same day? Give D & E Couriers a try. For more info, please visit decouriersinc.com or call 994-5909.

Dolce Now Open Inside Meadow Pointe!

By Gary Nager,

Even though it’s located “deep” inside the Meadow Pointe community (at 30004 County Line Rd.), I definitely think it’s worth a short drive (three easy miles from the Shops at Wiregrass mall and only two miles from Bruce B. Downs {BBD} Blvd.) to visit my friend Tarek at the decadent new Dolce Gelato & Crepes Café for mid-morning breakfast, lunch or after any meal.

Dolce, which opens every day at 9 a.m. and is open after dinner, too, has excellent desserts, including authentic Italian gelato, French crepes and Belgian waffles, plus bacon or ham, egg and cheese crepes for breakfast, a variety of Boar’s head fresh-pressed panini sandwiches for lunch, delicious coffee, tea and smoothies and more.

I’ve already sampled a pressed roast beef panini, Dolce’s “Carabanella” (caramel, banana and Nutella spread) crepe and the Butterfinger gelato-topped waffle (with chocolate topping) pictured above.

Please tell Tarek that the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News sent you and use the coupon from Dolce’s ad on page 37 of this issue to get $1 off any purchase of $4 or more. For info, call 991-0350